Today’s sports enthusiasts have so many more options than they would have had ten years ago. Whereas it used to be about armchair coaching or bumping shoulders with fellow supporters at the bar, today it’s about being in conversation with your team and it’s supporters en masse. The Indian Premier League (IPL)’s latest partnership with Twitter will bring that kind of globally connected experience to cricket fans around the world.

IPL has revealed a slew of initiatives that will help fans stay connected with the Pepsi IPL 2014 Cricket match – and they aren’t all about social connection, either. Here are some examples of IPL’s Twitter-related initiatives:

The Twitter IPL Calendar will allow fans to be tweeted 10 minutes before each match of the tournament. Fans simply have to tweet to @IPL with the hashtag #Calendar to receive the updates.

The IPL Pulse will report on the most talked about players and include visualizations of popular conversations and trends.

Fans tweeting using the #IPLSelfie hashtag could see their selfies featured on the IPL website.

IPL will also highlight conversations and tweets from fans and include Q&A sessions with players and commentators. Hashtag battles will also allow fans to tweet their team’s hashtag against one another to see who has the loudest online voice.

We’ve only started to see the creative ways in which brands and sporting teams connect with their fans’ passion. The marketing team at IPL is trying to extend the experience that fans used to have within their local circle of fellow enthusiasts. This helps sports fans identify even further with their team and likely leads to further revenue for the team down the road.

It also works as an effective customer acquisition strategy for more casual fans who may not be able to actually attend games or may not head out to a local pub to watch the game with friends. These initiatives give casual fans the option to be part of the herd without having to move from their couch.